healthier, happier and richer

Israel is a world leader in solar energy. About three quarters of all households use the sun to heat water, using a technology called solar thermal. And Israeli firms are widely recognised as technological leaders in the field of solar electricity.

“Climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century.”

These are the opening words of an editorial and also a major report published this week in the Lancet and University College London Institute for Global Health Commission.

Last week, I went to Rome to talk to Chicco Testa, who used to be chairman of Enel, Italy’s largest energy utility (and the third largest in Europe). He has now set up an organisation called NewClear to press Italy and other European countries to build new nuclear power stations.

It was 7:30pm on a glorious spring evening, early May, in Italy. I had finished work at two in the afternoon and could have got the plane back to London.

President Obama’s meeting with the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on 6 May understandably focussed on how to combat the Taliban and control Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.

President Obama is committed to controlling climate change. He has allocated billions of dollars to renewable energy and promised to engage seriously with international negotiations. However, Obama is not perfect and should not be above criticism.